By Phil Coleman

Last updated 05:34, Friday, 01 August 2008

HER living room is the Cumbrian equivalent of the shop in the Ronnie Barker comedy classic Open All Hours.

Tuck in: Ella Phillips, from Sleetbeck, near Roadhead, who celebrated her 90th birthday recently and raised a fantastic £900 for The Air Ambulance at her birthday party in Roadhead Village Hall. Ella runs in the little shop she runs from her front room for locals

But there is nothing fictional about the community service offered by 90-year-old Ella Phillips, who has run a “tuck shop” from the front room of her home at Roadhead, north of Carlisle, for 52 years.

From a sideboard in her living room, the sprightly widow supplies a modest range of goodies that include crisps, pop, and chocolate bars.

Farmers often park their tractors outside her Sleetbeck Road home and pop in for a chat and a packet of cigarettes, sometime as late as 10pm.

In this close-knit rural community, Ella’s popularity is such that her family and friends recently threw a surprise 90th birthday party for her at the village hall, raising an impressive £900 for the Cumbria Air Ambulance, which has taken patients to hospital from the village a number of times.

Ella, a mum-of-six who now has 14 grandchildren and 24 great-grandchildren, wanted the money to go to the air ambulance because it once took her late son to hospital in Carlisle after he collapsed at her home.

Sadly, her oldest son died two days after the birthday party, but despite her loss, she was determined to help the charity.

Speaking this week, sitting in her living room beneath meat hooks that are still embedded in her ceiling, the cheerful pensioner explained why she continues running her rather old-fashioned shop, with its homemade wooden till fashioned half a century ago by her carpenter uncle Bob Jeromson.

She said: “I’ve lived in this house since July 17, 1949, and we started the tuck shop in 1956 because my late husband had poor health and we wanted him to have an interest.

“He was 69 when he died, but I kept the tuck shop on – the nearest shop is now 11 miles away so it’s handy.

“Sometimes I wonder why I carry on with it, but it’s just so handy for people. They often stay for a bit of crack and I’d miss them if they weren’t there. I think it helps village life.”

Most of Ella’s customers are children, who regularly pop in to buy sweets.

She said: “A lot of the older men who live nearby used to pop in and they’d play dominoes between 1pm and 3pm – and then they’d go for a walk. Sadly, they’re all gone now.”

Ella’s granddaughter Heather Elliot said it was not unusual for a passing farmer, seeing the pensioner’s light still on at 10pm, to knock on the door to buy cigarettes.

“It’s like Ronnie Barker’s Open All Hours,” said Heather.

Ella added: “People have to travel a lot further these days to get to the shops.

“At one time, this village had everything it needed – a post office, a nurse, a petrol station, and even a clogger. A lot of the local pubs have closed as well, so this shop helps.”